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Concurrent Session VIII
Saturday, June 14, 8:30–9:45 AM
The Scholarship of Liminal Spaces: Problem-Based Learning Educational Development Strategies
Terry Barrett: University College Dublin, Ireland
The context was two teams of lecturers who were completing a module on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as part of a postgraduate diploma. Both the content and process of this module were PBL. This session summarises doctorate research on how lecturers as Problem-Based Learning students talked about the problem as a liminal space. A liminal space is a betwixt and between space. This critical discourse analysis of these students’ talk in PBL tutorials highlighted three dimensions of this liminal space. The scholarship of liminal spaces is from this primary research and from the literature on liminality. The practical strategies for PBL education development are explored. Participants are invited to play with this scholarship of liminal spaces with images and words.
Focus Groups in Educational Research and Development
Anne Mette Morcke & Berit Eika: Aarhus University, Denmark
Focus groups have become quite popular in educational development projects and research. Focus-group interviews potentially can provide answers to some of the burning questions of educational developers. But the method has clear limitations and pitfalls. As with any other qualitative research method, you can end up with enormous amounts of unmanageable data or absolutely trivial results. To avoid these pitfalls, educational developers have to consider a number of basic questions before launching focus-group projects. In this session, we identify and discuss effective uses of focus groups in educational research and development.
Student Consultants: Valuing the Student Voice in Educational Development
G. Roger Sell & Kimberly Fielding: Missouri State University, USA; D. Lynn Sorenson & Brian Walker: Brigham Young University, USA
Including the undergraduate student voice in educational development adds a valuable new dimension to providing feedback on teaching to faculty members. Several universities currently sponsor trained student observer programs, including Brigham Young University and Missouri State University. After a brief description of BYU’s acclaimed program, session participants meet in small groups with student observers/consultants to pose questions and learn more about how the student consultants work with teachers to enhance student learning. Presenters from Missouri State University will then share their experiences in recently initiating a similar program. Finally participants explore resources and possibilities for implementing elements of student consulting in their own educational development programs.
Professional Development Associations Around the World: How Can They Support Their Members and the Global Scholarship of Practice?
Prasart Seubka: Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand; Sudaporn Luksaneeyanawin: Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Chavanee Tongroach: Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, Thailand; Bundit Thipakorn: King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
This session is led by members of one of the newest emerging networks, the Professional and Organizational Development Network of Thailand (Thai POD). Session participants are invited to share the ways in which their own national associations support their members’ practice of professional development. The group will examine initiatives of the new Thai POD and those undertaken by other major professional associations, such as Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Canada), the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia, the Staff and Educational Development Association (UK), and the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (USA). Examples of initiatives in four broad categories of activity will be presented:
- Advocacy (promotion of the profession, linkages with government or postsecondary administrators)
- Print and electronic resources (books, journals, web materials)
- Networking and continuing education (conferences, listservs, events)
- Promotion of scholarship of practice (grants, study assistance, dissemination vehicles)
Working in small groups, participants can elaborate on the examples and suggest other categories of activities that professional associations in our field are, or could, address. A list of recommendations for practice will be generated and submitted for possible inclusion on the ICED website.
Ten Ways to Use a Database at a Faculty Development Center
A. Jane Birch: Brigham Young University, USA; Tara Gray: New Mexico State University, USA
Do you have a system for handling all the administrative details of your center? A good database program can help you keep all of your people, activities, and programs organized and running smoothly. It can also help you assess the impact of your work and prepare reports for those who will judge its worth and allocate resources. This session explores ten ways a database can be used to help you and your center be more productive. It includes everything from routine tasks like managing invitations and RSVPs to tracking evaluation data and producing reports.
Educational Development as a Global ‘Trading Zone’: Tales, Issues and Possibilities
Kim McShane: University of Sydney, Australia; Catherine Manathunga: University of Queensland, Australia
Educational development has the potential to offer academics the intellectual space to debate and exchange ideas about pedagogy. This space has been characterized variously as a “critical interdisciplinary space” (Rowland, 2003), a “contact zone” (Manathunga, 2006) and a “trading zone” (Mills & Taylor Huber, 2005). In this session, with presenters and participants from diverse global contexts, we will explore through a readers’ theatre and a trading activity, the possibilities and limits of the educational “trading zone” metaphor for educational development.
Preliminary Outcomes of Explicit Research-Skill Development for All Students During the Coursework of Ten Disciplines
John Willison: University of Adelaide, Australia
A framework for explicit research-skill development by students has been adopted at an Australian university. This research skill-development (RSD) framework was implemented in that university’s First-year Medical Science course, then subsequently in 4 other universities and 9 additional disciplines. This presentation has three phases. In phase one, Participants evaluate in small groups the RSD framework, framing questions and comments for the whole group. Then phase participants will be informed about and then critique student outcomes for three different cohorts of students. In the final phase, participants will learn about the use of RSD in multiple disciplines/universities, and they will consider possible applications to their own contexts.
Strategies for Helping University Teachers Develop Discipline-specific Pedagogical Knowledge
Denis Berthiaume & Marc Horisberger: Lucerne University of Applied Science and Arts, Switzerland
The importance for university teachers to develop discipline-specific pedagogical knowledge (DPK), (the knowledge of teaching a particular academic discipline at university level) has been emphasised for some time now. Yet, the development of such knowledge is often not directly supported by educational developers, mainly because of our limited understanding of DPK and how it develops over time, or because of our limited knowledge of strategies that specifically foster the development of DPK. In this session, an empirical model of DPK is presented, along with ideas for its use in various educational development activities.
Mapping Our Pathway Into the Field of Educational Development
Denise Stockley & Joy Mighty: Queen’s University, Canada; Jeanette McDonald: Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada; Lynn Taylor: Dalhousie University, Canada; Mary Deane Sorcinelli & Mathew L. Ouellett: University of Massachusetts, USA; Karron Lewis: University of Texas, USA; Ray Land: University of Strathclyde, Scotland; David Gosling: University of Plymouth, England; Debra Dawson: University of Western Ontario, Canada; Adam Caron: IATHE, Canada
Currently there is no prescribed pathway (e.g., credentials) into the profession of educational development, no unifying position-profile that captures who we are and what we do, and no clear-cut path to guide advancement within the field. What draws people to the profession, the routes that facilitate their entry and advancement within the field, and the context in which this happens is neither clear nor consistent. This presentation highlights the work of an international team investigating pathways into the profession of educational development and will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss/map their own pathways.